The violent hail storms that hit the country every year cost as much as €5 million in insurance claims, figures compiled by the Malta Insurance Association show.

“Every year, there is at least one big hail storm. This is the most worrying weather phenomenon from an insurance point of view. These storms tend to lead to most claims being made, particularly for damage caused to cars,” Adrian Galea, the association’s director general told the Times of Malta.

The island has been affected by a number of violent storms this month, the latest on Friday and Saturday.

Incessant rain and strong winds wreaked havoc in a number of localities on Friday, even bringing traffic to a standstill at times.

Thunderstorms on Saturday forced three incoming flights to divert to Sicily on Saturday afternoon and delaying a number of others.

The truth is winter is coming, so we should expect a similar storm to hit

A storm that hit Malta earlier this month caused damage in coastal localities. A number of boats have also been destroyed together with street furniture and some seaside buildings.

Mr Galea, who was contacted before the storms of Friday and Saturday, said it was still too early to say how many claims would be filed as a result of the storm, adding, however, that it would likely be far less than the multi-million-euro damage caused by hail storms.

By way of comparison, he said, a 2014 storm similar to the one that hit the island earlier this month, had resulted in claims amounting to “a few hundred thousand euros”.

A big hail storm on October 22, 2015 had resulted in a whopping €5.2 million worth of claims, nearly four-fifths of which were related to car damage.

Another storm the year before had wreaked similar havoc and hail-related claims from a 2013 storm had resulted in €3.2 million worth of damage, Mr Galea said. Some 1, 800 claims were submitted following that storm alone.

“The truth is winter is coming, so we should expect a similar storm to hit. And, when it does, the damage will probably be significant,” he said.

Mr Galea urged people to prepare by being continuously informed about weather forecasts. “Those who have a garage might want to use it when a hail storm is brewing,” he said.

Last year’s storm was so bad, he noted, that hail the size of gold balls pelleted cars, denting their panels.

He also suggested routine maintenance on homes be conducted before the weather took a turn for the worse.

“Preparing roofs, making sure things like water tanks are properly secured and removing leaves out of drains can save a lot of heartache,” he said.